Amir attends KFAS awards ceremony

KUWAIT, Dec 21 (KUNA) -- His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sponsored and attended an awards ceremony held Wednesday by Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) at Salwa Al-Ahmad Hall in the Marina Hotel.
His Highness was received upon his arrival to the venue by KFAS Director General Dr. Adnan Shehab-eldin and members of the board. The ceremony was also attended by senior officials topped by His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, senior Sheikhs, His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad, Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and Deputy Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah.
The ceremony started with the national anthem and a recitation from the Holy Quran followed by a speech by the KFAS Director General. Dr. Shehab-eldin expressed pride in achievements and scientific standing of Kuwaiti and Arab researchers. He added care for scholars and advancement of sciences is a Kuwaiti priority, even back in the days when life was harder and state finances and resources modest.
He noted the development in the education sector was due to cooperation between the government on one hand and the citizens and businessmen on the other, and the state made leaps since the establishment of the first regular school, Al-Mubarakiyah School, and continued to expand in bringing qualified staff from abroad as well as in sending Kuwaitis to study at leading regional and international institutions.
The care given to the sector was increased upon the discovery of oil, he said, and model schools were built and students sent for study at prestigious universities. These students returned home with the best education and contributed to the following boom.
Dr. Shehab-eldin remarked the special developments of establishing Kuwait University and Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) in the 1960s out of belief in the role of science in the country's renaissance. He noted that KFAS is now marking its own 35th anniversary and still pursuing the policy and aiming at objectives set by its founder the late Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, which stress on private sector involvement.
Amid great accelerating scientific advancements, KFAS is even more eager to pursue the latest and to foster talent and care for the qualified to enable them to contribute to their nation's advancement. This was echoed in the Amir's initiative of founding the Sabah Al-Ahmed Center for Giftedness and Creativity.
As productive as KFAS has been over 35 years, the chairman said, there is still a need to regularly re-consider priorities and areas of focus, and this was achieved through re-assessment of all functions and activities compared to peer institutions and a following plan for development of performance, drafted by KFAS board upon the Amir's directives.
The strategic plan for the next five years was drawn with contributions by leading local and international experts and consultants, and KFAS is now eager to more effectively encourage potential and invest in talent.
The future plans revolve around four factors: Spreading and improving science teaching, encouraging the talented, and creating a suitable environment; bolstering state institutions' research capacities and coordination among state bodies with focus on areas of energy, water, and the environment; encouraging creativity and commercial applications and patents within a comprehensive system for science and technology; encouraging development of scientific and technological abilities of the private sector and encouraging the creation of a knowledge-based economy.
KFAS future projects include Scientific Center expansions, a project for the improvement of the teaching of math and science, and providing support to talented students in cooperation with educational bodies, the chairman said, concluding with expression of gratitude for the Amir's sponsoring and gracious attendance of this awards ceremony.
After the KFAS chairman's speech, Dr. Habib Zaidi addressed the attendees on behalf of those honored. He said generations of Kuwaitis and Arabs grew up inspired by publications including Al-Arabi Magazine, Al-Arabi Al-Sagheer, and the Arabic issue of the renowned magazine Scientific American (Al-Oloom). There was also Alam Al-Fikr, and the State of Kuwait produced one great work after the other in the development of culture and education for the masses in the region.
This prize, too, is one such effort inspired by the state's keenness to spread knowledge, science, and culture. With great care when it comes to choice of themes and assessment of applications and papers submitted, the prize could fittingly be called the (Arab Nobel), Dr. Zaidi said. The prize is known for its transparency, high standards and criteria, and it is a great honor for any researcher or scholar to receive a KFAS award, as it would attest to his unique standing.
Dr. Zaidi expressed gratitude, on behalf of those honored, to His Highness the Amir, to the KFAS Director General, to KFAS staff, and the organizing committee of this ceremony.
After the two speeches, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah presented the awards and the certificates of merit for 2010.
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